Tesla Model S Referral Link

The current Tesla Referral offer runs from on May 19, 2017 to December 31, 2017. By clicking on this link, you are granted unlimited supercharging for free and save $1,000 on the purchase (or £750 if in the UK, $1,200 CAD for Canada, $1,400 AUD for Australia, or equivalent program for your country/region) of a new Model S or Model X. See the link below for details and thank you for using my referral code.

Here are pictures of my Model S that Moe Mistry at Glistening Perfection completely refreshed and wrapped the entire vehicle using XPEL Ultimate, applied Huper Optik window film to all glass surfaces, and finally applied a nano coating to the glass and paint to further protect everything. We basically drove the car up to Sonoma, then down from the factory and drove straight to Glistening Perfection‘s studio in Orange County.

So the first few pictures are the condition that we brought the car to the guys at Glistening Perfection. And since Moe’s advice was to provide it to him as dirty as possible, we and drove it straight to his studio without anyone else having washed or detailed our Model S. He did a good job making it look better than new

They repair all rock chips prior to clear bra installation. With a 700 mile trip previous to dropping it off, we only had two rock chips that we picked up on our drive.

Once entire car is polished and clear coat is in perfect condition, they then begin the dis-assembly. This is where it gets to be nervous time for me when I hear that he is doing this to get the best wrap possible. (It’s to protect me from myself. As I’ve told a few of the folks during OC Tesla owners meetups, I find myself to be a shopping cart magnet).

Here it is with the installation complete

One of the things that attracted us to Moe of Glistening Perfection is that he is quite detail oriented. Such things as proper cataloging of what’s removed assures him that he doesn’t have spare parts when complete. He has become very well experienced in performing this level of work on Teslas and it’s procedures like this that sets his expert shop apart from others. We appreciated their work so much, that we had the same thing (whole car wrapped) done to my wife’s Signature Roadster (and that included taking out the factory protection… It’s ok, it’s five years old for that.)

Here he is making sure that the car stays cool in Southern California summers. The windows are getting tinted and nano coating applied to exterior glass surfaces. Including a near clear tint to the windshield AND because I’m kinda redundant to the Pano Roof as well.

He had new badges installed as he never re-uses the old ones. Besides, the old badges make for great conversation pieces on my office desk. Beside the chopped off Tesla Model S charging port that I got from TonyWilliams for the J1772 connector we use for either the Roadster or Active E.

Like I’ve said before… We liked them so much, we had them do our Roadster as well… Perhaps I’ll write a blog post on this later. Either way. Thumbs Up!

So… Tom Moloughney, Electronaut #1, has covered this subject numerous times (To Rex or not to Rex original and its follow up) and as much as I am against hybrid vehicles, I have been convinced by Tom and others that if we were to order an i3, I would probably opt for the REX enabled one instead.

However, yesterday, a couple of news reports from The Street and InsideEVs.com have posited (pretty reliably) that the i3 with REX will be eligible for the much more limited Green Sticker (limited to the first 40,000 vehicles in California) for the HOV versus the unlimited white sticker variety. For a good run-down on why this matters to Californians, I direct you once again to Tom Moloughney who just wrote about it on his blog.

Now… As readers know, I really like the i3… However, at this point a third EV (because the Active E is going back in February) is really a luxury and not a necessity. Now that does not mean that we won’t do it, it just means that there needs to be something that compels us to pull the trigger on an i3. We continue to run a hybrid garage and prefer to separate our ICE vs EV trips on a vehicle by vehicle selection and not by a gas engine running in our EV.

Having been burned by the phase out of the Yellow Stickers in the past, I am part of the camp that holds the White Stickers as superior to the Green Stickers because the White Stickers are really the goal of no emissions from traditional gasoline engines vs. the pure BEV aspect of the White Stickers (I am purposefully IGNORING the fact that CNG vehicles are eligible for the same White Sticker.)

As much as I wish to hold on to my initial beliefs at the start of writing this blog. I have become Accidentally Environmental. So, I actually felt that the original proposal to extend the HOV access for the Green and White stickers with differing dates did make sense. The compromise that got the stickers until 2019 is just that, a compromise. The original extension proposed a phase out of the green stickers for HOV use in 2018 and the white ones at 2020. Knowing that I wanted to be pure BEV, I was all for that proposal.

So, if the California Legislature were to actually expire these privileges to adopters of cleaner vehicles on 2019, neither Green nor White can drive solo in the HOV lane, there is no benefit that one vehicle has over the other. However, there may still be a better chance of the White Sticker to be extended because it is inherently cleaner than the Green Sticker vehicles. There is nothing but faith that leads me to posit this. Therefore I can not provide any other backing of this belief.

So, should we even decide to continue a relationship with BMW i, do I get a REX enabled i3 or the pure BEV i3. I was leaning toward the REX i3 because I often do 102 mile days. I prefer to drive the Active E now over the Model S. They are both excellent vehicles, I just am more comfortable with my Active E. As I drive the Model S more often, I still like a lot of things that BMW does. Is this enough to add a third EV? Well, it really depends on getting the better half to agree that the car does not look as bad in person as it does to her in pictures and whether we decide to garage my wife’s Roadster more often.

If we do get the i3… Rex or Not Rex? Well, we’ll see. Luckily, being a fan of games of chance, I think that there is a better than average chance for ANY California Electronut (BMW Active E Electronaut) to get the REX enabled i3 for a Green Sticker. But this is a $50,000 bet for a smaller return. It would make for better resale values to have a special “Electronaut Edition” of the i3 with REX AND a sticker. After 2019, it might not matter.

As of 2:45 pm Pacific on January 10, 2014. I still don’t know. Ask me later. (and oh yeah, I have a week left to decide whether we’re continuing with BMW i or not.)

It sure would help if I can get one nearby for my wife to try. Unfortunately it looks like this will just be a theoretical exercise. I continue to wonder what special things BMW i folks will be providing for those of us that have provided the valuable data with which to launch the i3. Is it just some nice trim packages or something more financially helpful. I guess I’ll need to get down to a dealer to talk to and configure a potential i3 to find out.

Here’s the email I received this evening… Ten days to make a decision…

BMW

Exclusive Electronaut Ordering for the BMW i3. View Online

BE FIRST, AGAIN.

Dear Electronaut,We have great news about your BMW i3 ordering options. Being a member of an extraordinary group who has been first to adopt, engage and explore the boundaries of electric mobility, has led to many unique and memorable experiences. The exclusive opportunity for Electronauts to be first to order the revolutionary i3 produced for the U.S. market, is now yours.

Taking advantage of this opportunity is simple and quick. Contact your authorized BMW i Sales Center to place your order by January 17, 2014, let them know you are an Electronaut and provide the Unique Ordering I.D. provided to you in this email; this will ensure you have access to a suite of truly unique options, created just for you. These include first priority ordering of the i3, the ability to choose the specific option level you desire including paint color, and the addition of a special Electronaut Edition Package, at no cost to you.

With the order placed at your BMW i center, please take time to discuss the anticipated arrival of your i3 and the potential to bridge your ActiveE lease to coincide with its delivery, if necessary. If you decide to delay the purchase of your i3 and not take advantage of this limited offer, please proceed with the return of your ActiveE vehicle at lease maturity, as recommended by BMW Financial Services.

With this offer comes the gratitude from all of us at BMW, who have been fortunate enough to support you in launching the future. Please have a safe journey, and enjoy the silence.

Name:

Your Ordering I.D.:

Best regards,

The BMW of North America, BMW i Team

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